The Broncos had four high-profile players visit the media Wednesday (tell me if that sentence has been written by beat writers from the other 31 teams in May. I think not. Anyway … ). Receiver Eric Decker wants to gain weight while his receiver partner Demaryius Thomas wants to drop a couple. Pass rusher Elvis Dumervil has dropped weight while his partner Von Miller is trying to gain.

Each has a different story. Decker was superb early last year. In his first two months, he had 30 catches, 359 yards and 5 TDs in seven games. In his last 9 games, he had 14 catches, 253 yards and 3 TDs. And it wasn’t just the quarterback switch to run-oriented Tim Tebow, either. But we’ll get to Thomas’ late season-heavy stats in a minute.

“”Personally, for me, I think it’s finding that right balance nutritionally, getting enough sleep, working and grinding in the weight room,” Decker said. “”I did feel like I lost some weight and lost some strength. Mentally, it dragged on you a little bit because that was my first full season of playing a lot every game.”

Thomas admitted the biggest question attached to him is: Can he stay healthy through a 16-game season. He hasn’t yet. “”That’s my question mark,” he said. “”I came in hurt and I’ve been hurt since I came in the league.”

He’s also been a beast when healthy. No NFL receiver matched his December-January stats of 35 catches, 745 yards, 4 TDs. His answer to better health?

“I actually trimmed down a little to 228,” he said. “”I played 232 last year. I want to play at 222.”

Dumervil and Miller are battling that outside linebacker/defensive end tweener detail. Dumervil had an NFL-most 17 sacks in 2009 when he played a little lighter as a 3-4 outside backer. He put on 10 pounds to 260 last year as he was switched back to 4-3 defensive end. He’s back to 250 now.

“”I just kind of wanted to get back to what I’m used to,” Dumervil said. “”I feel good at 250 [pounds] and my strength is there, my conditioning is there and it’s all about having that endurance throughout the game.”

Miller has to cover backs and tight ends as a Sam backer on first down, but lines up in a three-point stance on rushes from defensive end on third down. He started his rookie season of 2011 in the 242-245 range but finished at 238.

“I’m trying to put on a healthy 10 [pounds],” he said. “”I’m in the trenches with the big guys; I have to drop back into coverage, too. I think a couple of pounds wouldn’t hurt.

“I want to be 250-250 pound linebacker, 250-pound defensive end. At 250 you can get it all done. You can move, you can run.”

The trade that sent Broncos backup cornerback Cassius Vaughn to the Indianapolis Colts today in exchange for seldom-used fullback Chris Gronkowski may seem trivial at first glance. The significance is that it was the first trade executed by Matt Russell since he essentially replaced Brian Xanders as head of the Broncos’ football personnel department.

This is the Broncos’ second transaction since football operations boss John Elway and general manager Xanders parted ways two weeks ago. Besides the acquisition of Gronkowski, the Broncos signed free-agent cornerback Drayton Florence to a two-year contract.

Broncos linebacker Von Miller has been named Colorado Athlete of the Year by the Denver Athletic Club

Von Miller has been a Bronco for little over a year, but he’s already made his impression on Colorado.

Miller, who made the Pro Bowl in his rookie season last year, has been selected by the Denver Athletic Club. According to the DAC, the award goes to a local athlete who “has made significant contributions on the field and in the community.”

There, the DAC will also gave Dave Logan its career achievement award. Logan, the Broncos’ play-by-play announcer on KOA, is a longtime local high school football coach and one of the area’s homegrown athletes. He was drafted by the NFL, NBA and MLB and went on to play nine seasons in the NFL, including his final year with his hometown Broncos (1986).

Mike Klis has been with The Denver Post since 1998, after working 13 years with the Colorado Springs Gazette Telegraph. Major League Baseball was Klis' initial passion. He started covering the Colorado Rockies after Coors Field was approved for construction in August 1990.

Nicki Jhabvala is the Sports Digital News Editor for The Denver Post. Before arriving in Denver, she spent five years at Sports Illustrated working primarily as its online NBA editor, and she was most recently the overnight home page editor at the New York Times. She has reported regularly on the Broncos since joining the staff.

A published author and award-winning journalist, Benjamin Hochman is a sports columnist for The Denver Post. He previously worked on the staff of the New Orleans Times-Picayune, winners of two Pulitzer Prizes for their Hurricane Katrina coverage.